Meet Andrew Crapitto, Greendale's 2017 National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist

GREENDALE, WI — 17-year-old Greendale High School senior Andrew Crapitto reluctantly considers himself a perfectionist - but when you consider he has a passion for math, computer science and orchestral music - one has to wonder whether there's a healthier home for a young student's exacting standards.

But there's another side to Andrew that's just as true. "I’d say [my friends] probably describe me as intelligent, sarcastic, passionate, friendly, hardworking, and probably above all: a total class clown," he said.

The same person that listens to old school rap, hard rock, classical music and math rock on his mobile device, is also the same person that has traveled around the world as a performer.

Andrew is currently the principal bass player for the Milwaukee Youth Symphony's Chamber Orchestra and Senior Symphony, and he's toured with the Youth Symphony, and performed in Argentina and Uruguay this past summer, and in Prague and Budapest in 2015.

He's been playing the bass since elementary school, and composing his own music since middle school. He's involved with the high school orchestra, band, jazz band and marching band. He's also been a member of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra since he was in 5th grade. And if that wasn't enough, he's also been part of Greendale’s high school theater program and have been in the ensemble of the spring musical these past three years.

As one of two National Merit Scholarship finalists in Greendale this year, he is in rare company already. About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools took the PSAT last year, and the national pool of semifinalists represents less than 1 percent of all U.S. high school seniors.

Of the 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000 will become finalists, and among them, roughly 7,500 will receive some form of scholarship through the program.

Andrew hasn't yet picked out a college, but there are several he's planning to apply to, including Stanford and Notre Dame, as well as some music schools like the Boston Conservatory and the Juilliard School.

Andrew is considering majors in music or possibly in computer science. "Computers and programming have been something I’ve enjoyed since I was young, and I always found pleasure in teaching myself computer programming," he said. "When it comes to music, I could go on and on."

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photo by Sara Bill Photography, republished with permission